Planning row over broadband mast in one part of Offaly

A TELECOMMUNICATIONS company says a mast which Offaly County Council turned down is crucial for improved mobile and broadband services in the Walsh Island area.

The County Council refused permission for the 25.5m high (83.5 feet) lattice tower north of Walsh Island in Ballintemple townland because there is already another mast 150 metres away.

Towercom said the proposed structure will replace a smaller mast which has been there since 1990 and an appeal has been lodged with An Bord Pleanala.

Towercom argue that the new mast must be placed at the existing site because that is the location of an Eir exchange and a fibre point of connection.

Vodafone support the Towercom appeal and said they require a “direct connection to this fibre point of connection” which is not achievable by using the mast 145/150 metres from the exchange “across a 3rd part agricultural field”.

Vodafone says it assesses co-location as a first option and already has masts co-located on ESB, CIE, Bord Na Mona, Vantage and Cellnex sites in the surrounding area but “we need to remain at exchange premises with use of new tower because of direct availability to the high-capacity fibre connection”.

The new mast will be 11 metres higher than the existing one and documents lodged with the appeal to An Bord Pleanala say increasing the height is necessary to achieve line of sight with more surrounding sites for the installation of site to site radio link dishes.

“This allows these sites to be connected into Vodafone's high capacity transmission fiber network located in exchange. These connected sites will experience capacity uplift for 4G and future 5G services.”

The other sites Vodafone wish to link to are Towercom in Bracknagh, CIE in Geashill, ESB in Knock, Daingean, Vantage in Daingean GAA, Cellnex in Clonyquin and Bord na Mona in Ballykilleen.

Towercom said in the original application to the council that the area is “fringe” for Eir mobile 4G coverage according to ComReg, “very good” for Three, and varying from “fringe” to “no coverage” for Vodafone.

In the appeal they say: “As a long-established telecommunications site and utilities property, the existing installation is of inadequate height and structural capacity for multiple operators' equipment and as such is in need of upgrading and investment by the applicant and operators.

“The telecommunications site is of critical importance to the Vodafone network in this region and is relied upon by individuals, communities, and businesses in the area for many years... The proposed replacement structure presents an opportunity for current operators to upgrade their installation and future operators to co-locate as the lattice tower will have capacity to cater for future equipment as required.”

“The rationale... is to improve the coverage and capacity of mobile telecommunications and broadband services in this area of Offaly, consistent with the Offaly County Development Plan 2021-2027...”

Towercom sought permission in December 2021 and gave the council further information 11 months later. The application was refused in December 2022.

The council said it aims to “consolidate” the number of telecommunications masts in the county and says the other mast, (24m high and 150m to the northeast in the neighbouring townland of Bunnagappagh) serves the same geographical area.

The council said Towercom's application had “not satisfactorily demonstrated that coverage could not be achieved through co-location with another operator on an existing telecommunications structure”.

The owner and operator of the other mast, OnTower, said it already provides wireless broadcast facilities for Three Ireland in the Walsh Island area.

OnTower told the council their site has the capacity for additional equipment and can be upgraded to accommodate additional telecommunications equipment as the need arises and added: “Towercom Ltd did not seek a colocation from OnTower Limited in this case. For this reason, we do not see a requirement for a second telecoms site in the Walsh Island area.”